Page 43 of Weston

“Alright,” Brand interceded, stepping between the two men before Wes could carry out his threat, “we’re going to get the nuke. You’ll meet us at the fruit grove by the dock. We can do the trade there, on neutral ground. Understand?”

“Three hours,” the pirate repeated, throwing a daggered look at Wes.

“Boom,” Wes responded, voice so low it was barely audible. But from the look on the pirate’s face, he’d heard and understood.Good.Wes needed him to comprehend the deadly consequences if anyone put their dirty hands on his Ellie. He’d go berserk and turn that nuke right on them all.

“Let’s go,” Brand said, gripping Wes’ arm as he turned back to the front of the house. Knowing the rest of the team had their six as they left, they strode out like they owned the place.

Once they cleared the building, Brand leaned closer to Wes. “Way to lay low.”

“If they had Julia, would you have laid low?”

“I’d probably have blood on my hands right now.”

“Exactly,” Wes agreed. “All in all, I think I kept my shit together pretty damn well.”

Brand slapped him on the back. “We’ll get her, Murph. That’s a fucking promise.”

Yes, they would get Ellie back. The alternative was unthinkable, and Wes refused to let his mind go there or he’d fall apart. And, right now, he needed to be stronger than he’d ever been before.

Chapter Seventeen

The two pirates led her deeper and deeper into the cave. Though the interior was dim, Ellie sent up a silent thanks that she wasn’t being driven forward into complete darkness. Because of all the holes and crevices in the ceiling above, the last of the day’s sunlight trickled in through the various cracks and openings. Of course, once the sun set, she’d be plunged into pitch blackness. God, she felt doomed.

Wes had been shot, and her entire world had gone dark in that one awful moment. A part of her held out hope that his tactical vest had stopped the bullet. But what if he was floating in the ocean, bleeding out? His team had been on their way, but what if they couldn’t find him? What if the sharks did first?

Oh, God.The what-ifs were killing her.

After several twists and turns, they reached the back of the cave.A dead-end,Ellie realized, her heart sinking. She was hoping there might be another exit, but no such luck. Just a rocky wall that dripped cold water and sent a chill down her spine. Ellie wasn’t stupid. She knew that high tide submerged these caverns. Her friend Taman had warned her to stay clear of the dangerous oceanfront caves because she’d known people who had drowned or were swept out to sea, their bodies never found.

One of the pirates, the one she’d begun to mentally call Blackbeard because of his dark, thick, grimy-looking facial hair, shoved her down to the rocky ground and she fell, scraping her hands and knees. She couldn’t miss the metal rod that had been secured in the rock wall and the long, wet rope hanging loosely from it. They were going to tie her up and leave her there to die, at the mercy of the tide.

Racking her brain for a way to escape, Ellie fought the wave of panic threatening to pull her under. She had no plans on drowning today. The moment the smaller, more petite pirate—who she’d nicknamed Anne Bonny—reached for her, she spun and kicked her foot out, catching him in the shin. He howled as she scrambled to her feet and hauled ass toward the entrance, determined to outrun them both.

Unfortunately, her half-baked plan didn’t work and Blackbeard managed to catch her. He swore at her in Indonesian, roughly grabbed her hair and dragged her back. She cried out, twisting, trying to break free, but his grip was like steel.

Anne Bonny grumbled something ominous, his black eyes glittering with hatred, before he backhanded her. Ellie’s head snapped to the side and she saw stars. Holy hell, for being such a little guy, he packed quite a punch.

A hand shoved her back down to her knees and she cried out when her kneecaps slammed into the rock again.Bastards.“You don’t have to be so rough!” she yelled. Dammit, she was spitting mad.

They ignored her, and while Bonny held her wrists together, Blackbeard began winding the rope around them tightly. Too tightly. She winced, doing her best to keep somespace between her hands, but he was too smart to allow that to happen.

“Ow!” she cried out, jerking her wrists away after Blackbeard tied the last knot. The two men conferred in Indonesian for a minute then tossed her one last glare before leaving. Sagging against the rocky wall, Ellie sighed. She was glad they decided not to hang around and guard her. Maybe they weren’t so smart after all. Or at least underestimated her determination to escape.

Twenty minutes later, her wrists were still bound far too tightly and becoming raw from rope burns.Dammit.She had to get out of there before the situation became critical. High tide varied, but she’d always made sure she was aware of the rising ocean’s schedule. And, right now, she knew she had less than three hours before the ocean water would rip through this cave. Escaping what could potentially be a watery tomb was going to be up to her.

The clock was ticking.Time to save yourself, Ellie. Let’s go.Once again, she began pulling at the rope, ignoring the pain, and trying to break free. Thoughts of Wes consumed her and she prayed he was okay.

Ellie needed a couple of miracles fast and she hoped someone, somewhere, was listening and ready to help.

???

Wes was one step away from losing his shit. Out on the boat, floating directly above the coordinates provided by the decrypted file from the CIA laptop, he dug deep, trying to bepatient while the ROV searched the ocean floor less than fifteen feet below.

The upper half of his wetsuit hung around his waist, allowing him to stay cool but suit up quickly when it was go-time. Until then, he’d sit in a chair, mentally pacing back and forth, unable to actually do so because he’d traded his prosthetic leg for the flipper attachment. Was it perfect? No. But it did allow him to move faster and balanced him out better underwater.

He’d already pre-checked his diving gear, so now it was a waiting game. One he was rapidly losing because every fiber of his being was screaming for him to go tear apart every single island until he found where Ellie was being held. His urge to protect her, to make sure she was safe and unharmed, overwhelmed him.

“Hey, hang in there.”